Twenty Miles!

I did it. I actually ran 20 miles. Even though you would not know it if you could see me right now, I am actually very excited about this accomplishment, if for no other reason than my longest run is behind me and it is all downhill from here. This run has been haunting me for the last several weeks. I have done 17 and 18 mile runs, but 20 was definitely a huge milestone in my mind - it truly means that the end is near. If the marathon was anything like today's run, my first marathon may also be my last. Here's the play-by-play:

• Miles 1-3: I am feeling good. I am dressed appropriately, and I am happy about this because it is always a crap-shoot. It is in the 30's, so I am wearing shorts, a long-sleeve shirt over a short-sleeve shirt, and gloves. My pace is slow and steady. My iPod is working properly. When I glance at my watch near mile three, I am sure it must be broken - surely I have run more than three miles. Nope, it is working, and I have 17 more miles to go.

• Miles 4-7: I run these on the frontage road of Interstate 27. When I get to Rockwell Road and cross the bridge, I have a fresh bottle of water waiting there for me. I take a GU, and my energy picks up. The wind is blowing from the south, and it is still a little cold. However, it is nothing like my 18-mile terror in the wind, so I am feeling good. I am pain-free and feeling positive.

• Miles 8-13: I get to my bottle of water and take another GU. The temperature is heating up and I take off my gloves. "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield comes on my iPod, and I am feeling pretty good. I even sing a few verses; the song ends, and fatigue starts setting in. I start thinking about how I look like a huge dork when I run. I have on an ear warmer. I am wearing my SPI Belt around my waist with my gloves tucked into it. I have my pepper spray hooked to my belt. The wind is at my back. All I have to do is run to my house. The pains start during these miles. My left knee hurts, then my right knee hurts. I keep telling myself that I have done this distance numerous times, but the thought of 7 more miles after I finish this is almost too much to bear. I am starting to get hot. I take off my ear warmer. If you have read any of my posts, you know that I do not deal well with the heat. I am adequately hydrated, but the stomach cramps start. This is not good. Keep running to the house, keep running to the house... I finally get to the house for my pre-planned restroom break. I drink some water and take two electrolyte pills to help with the cramping. I ponder plopping myself down on the couch and watching "Entourage" episodes that I have on the DVR. I talk to the dog since I haven't had a conversation with anyone in two hours. I tell myself that I have to do this, and I walk out the front door.

• Miles 14-16: I have done these miles before. This should be no problem. Then I start to run. My 4-minute break at the house has made my legs feel like lead. It is like I cannot make my legs move. After about a mile, I settle in, but I can tell that this is going to be tough. When my legs start to get tired, I tense up. My legs tense up; my whole body tenses up. I have to repeatedly take deep breaths and try to relax. Easier said than done. A little before mile 17, I stop by a water fountain in an elementary school park. I stand there for a minute or two, slurping the water and taking my GU. I am sure I look like a homeless crazy person. I am glad that none of the teachers see me and call the cops.

• Miles 17-18: Pain has set in. Every inch of my body aches. I keep telling myself that I have run this distance before, but it is like my legs know that miles 19 and 20 are still to come. It is like they know the pain I will feel in only a few minutes. I am on my normal route, but I have somehow misjudged the distance. Apparently running this distance can make one delusional. I decide to just to run and see where I end up. Thank goodness for my GPS watch. I spend these two miles telling myself that I should not walk because it will just take me even longer to finish. I really want to walk.

• Miles 19-20: Uncharted territory. I have never attempted this distance. I try to tell myself to be proud, that I am doing something that I have never done before. My body's response is a strong desire to sit. Not walk, just sit. Not just sit, to lie down in some one's yard and take a nap. I do not want to put one foot in front of the other. I encounter a man with a dog and wave. For my pride, even though I do not know this person, I will keep running. I run all the way to my house and realize I still have 0.7 left. Should I just quit? It is close enough. No one will ever know. I run past the man with the dog again. I look like a crazy person running in circles, so I just look at the ground. Then I turn around and run past the man and dog again. I am sure he is on his way home to tell his wife about the crazy person he saw running in circles. I finally hit 20 miles. I let out a strange noise, a combination of a sigh of relief and a cry for help. I am not sure I can walk the 20 feet to my garage to let myself in.

• After My Run: I get immediately into my car. It is after 1:00 p.m., and I am famished. I look at my watch and see that I have burned 2215 calories! Yea! I drive myself to the nearest Chick-Fil-A and order lunch and a cookies and cream milkshake. It was the best milkshake I have ever tasted in my life. I also picked up my ice and went home to take an ice bath. These stink, but I truly believe that these baths are a big reason that I have not been injured in the last year. After a shower and a long nap, I am here writing this. I am definitely still in pain. I like to settle into one position and not move. Movement does not feel good to me. My walk looks like that of a woman who is 9 months pregnant and ready to give birth at any moment, a "pregnancy waddle," if you will. It isn't cute, especially considering that I don't have pregnancy as an excuse.

I am definitely proud of finishing twenty miles. I began training for this marathon over a year ago, and this 20 mile run has been in my mind the entire time. Now, with only 25 days left until White Rock, I don't have much more training left to do. Thank goodness this one is over. I can't believe that on December 14th I will run 20 miles + 6.2 more miles. I can't think of anything more fun...